Anna Hakobyan Attends Opening Ceremony of ‘My Way’ Professional Center's New Building

On September 28, Anna Hakobyan, wife of the Prime Minister of Armenia and chair of the Board of Trustees of the ‘My Step’ and ‘City of Smile’ charitable foundations, attended the opening ceremony of the ‘My Way’ social-abilitation day center for vocational training and employment. The event was also attended by His Grace Archbishop Sepuh Chuljyan, the head of the Gugark Diocese, Ara Babloyan, director of the ‘Arabkir’ Medical Center, Ani Kadumyants, member of the Board of Trustees of the National Autism Foundation and a philanthropist from Istanbul, and Hovhannes Ghazaryan, executive director of the ‘My Step’ foundation, along with the center's staff, students, and their parents. This was reported by Anna Hakobyan’s office.

In her opening remarks, Ani Kadumyants emphasized the inspiring fact that many people stand by children with autism and share the belief that these children are unique but not alien. She noted that there is a huge amount of work to be done in this sector, and the most important thing is to unify efforts to integrate children with autism into society. “These children need to be engaged every day, creating equal conditions for them that ensure equal rights and opportunities. In this regard, I am glad that we are all continuing this endeavor here,” said Ara Babloyan.

During the event, Anna Hakobyan toured the center accompanied by guests, familiarizing herself with the new building's facilities and received a certificate of appreciation from the students for her support in the reconstruction of the building.

The newly opened building of the ‘My Way’ rehabilitation center will provide vocational orientation and skills training to 80 teenagers with autism. The center will offer diverse creative activities within art therapy, including paper production, greeting card making, painting, pottery, and batik, as well as music therapy classes in piano, singing, and dance, along with cooking. Students will also learn computer skills, gardening, and will engage in sports.

The ‘My Step’ foundation supported the renovation and reconstruction works of the new building within the framework of the ‘Overcoming Poverty in Phases’ program, allocating 14,400,000 AMD for the project.